


Shutdown snippets

by D_f_m22



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:40:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23477869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_f_m22/pseuds/D_f_m22
Summary: We're all being forced inside.Like that time Missy was kept in a Vault.I'm starting a collection of light hearted snippets to spread joy during this difficult time.Prompts open.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. Yummy yogis

**Author's Note:**

> First snippet- Missy, yoga and gifts.

"Yummy, yummy, yummy I've got love in my tummy and I feel like loving you."

The Doctor looked up from the stack of essays he was marking and observed Missy. Perched on a corner unit in the kitchen, Missy kicked her legs with the same carefree joy as a school child on their first day of the summer holidays as she licked the remnants of cake mixture from a wooden spoon. Missy- formerly the megalomaniac Time Lord known as the Master- looked unguarded and innocent and about as far from her former title as she could. Chocolate specks stained the corner of the Time Lady's lips and a dusting of flour had set on top of her hair. 

"Quit staring at me," Missy said as she hopped off the kitchen cabinet and looked into the oven, keenly checking the progress of her latest batch of fairy cakes. "You know, I preferred my the notion of fairy cakes when I thought we were baking the Fey species of Teyjaryk live. They're such a pesky wee species. Do you know how many of my plans they've ruined with their tricks? It's easily been dozens. Honestly, it's no wonder they've gained notoriety in human storytelling." 

The Doctor continued staring at Missy, mouth agape as he listened to her latest outburst. Missy did this at times, sprinkling snippets of stories from her life into a conversation with little warning or context. Even now, after several centuries of friendship and decades of their current set up in the Vault, the Doctor didn't know how to react. 

So he didn't. Instead, he moved the conversation on. 

"You look like you're still managing to enjoy the fairy cakes," the Doctor commented. "Despite the fact that they aren't the vessels for genocide that you initially thought." 

The Doctor raked his eyes over Missy's form. She'd certainly been enjoying a healthy appetite of late- it was hard to ignore the new roundness to her face or relative plumpness to her hips. It was ludicrous to accuse Missy of getting fat-her current body didn't seem capable of that- but there was certainly more meat on her formerly angular bones these days. He worried once more that he was indulging her and was suddenly reminded about the documentary he had recently watched on wild cats that had been domesticated. Tabitha- a rescued puma that had been rehomed in the suburbs of Moscow- had become rather accustomed to her new lifestyle. After months of overindulgence, the pampered puma had become lazy and put on the pounds. It was hard not to see the similarities between the pampered cat and spoiled Time Lady. 

"What have you done today, Missy?" The Doctor asked. 

He hoped the Time Lady would detail at least some sort of physical activity. 

Missy spun on her heels and glared at the Doctor as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

"Is that a joke?" Missy asked. Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth and she tapped her foot in agitation. " I've been locked in a box waiting for my jailer to return. What else would I have done?" 

It had been a stupid question. Even the Doctor could admit that. 

"Okay, okay. That was a bad question. I just.... I just wondered if you'd had the chance to do any exercise..."

"Exercise?" Missy questioned. "Straight after a comment about my taste in cakes. Dearest, is there something you're trying to say?" 

Turning around, Missy bent forward and looked back at the Doctor over her shoulder. She looked the perfect image of a classic pin up. Lips pursed, Missy batted her eyelashes. The Doctor brought a glass of juice to his lips, taking a sip as he settled in for one of Missy's theatrical performances. 

"Are you trying to tell me that my bum looks big?" 

The Doctor choked on his juice, streams of liquid spraying over the stack of essays. He had walked into that one. 

"Don't be ridiculous-" the Doctor paused, considered his next words carefully. 

It was ridiculous- there was barely anything of Missy. It still didn't stop the Doctor worrying about her new, mainly dormant lifestyle. Time Lords- like humans-needed physical activity for a healthy lifestyle. 

"- I'm just worried that you're becoming... lazy. I mean when did you last exercise?" 

"Oh sure dear, I'll just get my trainers and leg warmers and head off on a jog. Maybe I'll stop by Jane Fonda's house for some fab fitness tips." 

The Doctor sighed and began cleaning up the spilled juice. 

"Well, there's lots of home exercise videos people do. Maybe you could try one?"

Missy raised her eyebrow at this, interest piqued as an idea began to form. 

"Oh?" She questioned. Lips curled into a knowing smile. "That sounds good, but how would I watch the videos when I'm stuck in the Vault?" 

The Doctor stopped wiping the juice remnants and looked at Missy in consideration. He could tell from the tone of her voice that she was up to something.

"Well... you could borrow my phone in the evenings?"

"No... I think it would be mutually beneficial if you get me an I Pad." 

"Missy. I'm not--" 

"Oh come on, what damage could I really do with an I Pad?" 

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. 

"Really? You want me to answer that..." 

Missy rolled her eyes. 

"We've been through this so many times," Missy said. "If I wanted to do something diabolical, I'd do it. You're right, I need to do more exercise I'm getting lazy. I've heard yoga is supposed to be good." 

"Yoga?" The Doctor repeated, surprised. 

"Yes. I'm bendy this time. Plus I've heard that the deep breathing is supposed to be good for anger. You're always telling me that I need to work on my anger issues." 

"I think there's a bit more to it than that..." 

"Well let me explore that..."

Xxxxxxxx 

"Thank you to all my yummy yogis that have sent in such generous gifts throughout this wonderful process. I could just eat you all up. I really am truly blessed to share this experience with you generous souls. Namaste. Join me tomorrow for Tess Rims' Yoga challenge." 

The video stopped playing and Nardole tutted looking as he glared at the Doctor. 

"Two months," he sighed. "You gave her a tablet and shes been using it to hypnotise the human race through yoga! What are you thinking?" 

The Doctor scowled as his face reddened. He couldn't quite believe that he'd been duped in such a way. 

"I... I thought she was engaging with the process..." 

Xxxxxxxx 

When the Doctor entered the Vault, he found Missy rising up from a sun salutation. He watched as she brought her hands to her chest and bowed her head to meet her finger tips. 

"Oh Doctor," Missy gushed in a low whisper. She sounded like an eager receptionist welcoming guests to a wellbeing spa. Or, more accurately, she sounded like an actress protecting her voice for her latest performance. "I didn't see you there."

"Cut it out, Tess," the Doctor growled. "Mass hypnosis via yoga?" 

Missy's face broke into a broad grin. "You finally liked and subscribed! That's what you get for calling me fat!"

" I never called you fat! You're giving me the I Pad," the Doctor sighed. "And all the gifts from your yummy yogis." 

"Even my new dachshund" 

The Doctor scowled. "Dachshund?!" 

"Yes, oh Doctor, she does a mean downward dog..." 


	2. Overload

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes Missy likes noise, sometimes she like silence and sometimes she doesn't know what she wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small piece I've been writing for a few weeks. Not necessarily finished, but the best it'll get for a while

The noise was overwhelming as the Doctor made his way down to the Vault- a jumbled and disorienting mixture bangs and clangs that someone, somewhere considered music. 

"For goodness sake," the Doctor grumbled as he marched into the Vault. He reached for the DAB radio that rested on the counter and switched it off. "I did not get you this radio for you to make more noise than a teenager going through their first break up!"

Missy spun on her heels and glared at the Doctor with wide, manic eyes. For a second, the Doctor feared he was about to be on the receiving end of her wrath. The Doctor held his breath as Missy padded across the floor, her bare feet had bloodied cuts (from what he wasn't sure) that the Doctor made a mental reminder to look over later.

When the Time Lady reached the Doctor, he fully expected her to slap him. He even flinched in anticipation. No slap came. Instead, Missy's attention was focused behind the Doctor and on the radio he had just silenced. In a swift movement, Missy reached out to reclaim the radio and resume the music but the Doctor was one step ahead of her and managed to grab her wrist when she was inches away from the volume button. 

"Get off," Missy growled as she tried to pull her arm free. "I want to listen to my music."

The Time Lady's eyes were wide and frantic, darting around the room and struggling to focus. The Doctor softened his gaze but maintained his grip. With his free hand, the Time Lord smoothed down the frizzy strands that were sprouting out from Missy's mane of hair. Usually, the action would calm the Time Lady but this time it seemed that there was no such luck. Carefully, the Doctor trailed his hand down to Missy's forehead instead. Here, he began to trace his fingers along the deep creases that had formed there. The lines seemed to map out a jagged terrain of worry and pain the Doctor couldn't quite understand. The creases eased after a few seconds as tension began to leave Missy's body. She was still agitated- the reason for her agitation was less clear, but the Doctor could find that out in time. 

"We're finished listening to that music now, Missy," the Doctor replied as calmly as he could. His hands moved to her shoulders and he was surprised to find no resistance when he directed her towards the living area of the Vault. "If you still want to listen to some music, why don't you play me something on the piano?" 

Missy looked over her shoulder at the Doctor as she froze in place. She was surrounded by debris- broken furniture and ripped paper intermingling to create a scene reminiscent of a war zone. The expression that crossed Missy's features seemed to suggest that she had only just remembered her piano existed. The Doctor watched as his friend's face brightened in momentary curiosity before crumbling into distress once more. This was Missy's first breakdown of this proportion in months and the Doctor had no idea what had triggered it. 

"I don't want to play the piano now," Missy whispered, shoulders tensed. All of a sudden she seemed to be averse to the noise she'd been craving. Eyes scrunched shut, Missy pointed to the lights in a silent request for them to be turned down. The Doctor obliged, more because the light seemed to be genuinely hurting her than for any other reason. "I..." 

The Doctor watched as Missy tried to finish her sentence. After several minutes of silence, he stepped forward, brow creased. 

"Missy, are you feeling okay?" He asked, he had tried to keep his voice as low as possible but it was clear that it was still too loud for the Time Lady.

Missy hissed, crouching to the floor and covering her ears. The Doctor watched in in concern, stepping back from the Time Lady. If he had to guess, Missy was experiencing some form of sensory overload. He had experienced such a thing enough to recognise it- especially in his current body- but Missy had always appeared to thrive on overloading her senses. Unless of course, she didn't and her time in the Vault was highlighting her inability to block out her feelings. Hovering on the edge uncertainly, the Doctor tried to formulate a plan. There wasn't much he could do, he realised grimly. Instead, he decided to remove his velvet jacket and place it over Missy's shoulders. When they'd first entered their current arrangement, Missy had been quite taken with the jacket. There had been many a night when she had clung to it for reassurance. The Doctor hoped that reassurance remained. Stepping back, he watched as Missy uncoiled a tiny bit under his jacket. 

"I'm not," Missy whispered as she looked up at the Doctor and then back down at the jacket she had been enveloped in. "I'm not feeling quite right." 

The Doctor crouched down and reached his arm out to Missy, hoping to offer some form of comfort and grounding to his friend. His concerned light grey eyes met Missy's searching ones. Her blue eyes were damp and lined with red edges. 

"That's okay. Sometimes we all feel a bit off. Let's sit together?" 

"Okay," Missy agreed. She wrapped herself in the jacket more tightly. "Just sit." 

"Yes and let's hope we don't get any noise complaints."


End file.
